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Security workers at Orlando International Airport are being shown the District of Columbia driver's license after one agent's apparent confusion over its validity. News4's Zachary Kiesch reports. (Published Wednesday, July 16, 2014)

Security workers at Orlando International Airport are being shown the District of Columbia driver's license after one agent's apparent confusion over its validity.

Cox Media Group television reporter Justin Gray was heading back to D.C. over the weekend when, he says, a Transportation Security Administration agent didn't recognize his license.

The TSA agent asked for a passport, but Gray wasn't carrying one. He said that after further back-and-forth, he realized the agent was not aware what the District of Columbia was.

Gray eventually made it through security and voiced his complaints to a supervisor -- and the rest of the world, via Twitter. He tweeted that Washington is "a bizarre place'' but a passport isn't needed.

. @TSA Agent in Orlando never heard of "District of Columbia." Demanded passport because he didn't believe my drivers license was from US!?

Apparently, having a D.C.-issued driver's license can prevent you from buying alcohol in New Hampshire. A quirky state law doesn't allow people from the District or any U.S. territory from purchasing alcohol at stores with a license.

Travis Mitchell, a 25-year-old D.C. resident, experienced this firsthand during a visit to his hometown earlier this month. According to the Washington City Paper, Mitchell went to a store to pick up some beer and was told that his license couldn't be accepted because D.C. isn't one of the 50 states.

"We always hear about these stories of people not accepting D.C. IDs for things, but you never really believe it," Mitchell said. "The cashier flagged a manager down, said 'We have a D.C. ID,' and we were told they wouldn't accept the ID due to state law."

A passport or military card is an acceptable alternative.

Some store owners let it slide, but others say they have to follow the letter of the law.